2008-2012:PhD at the Georg August University of Goettingen under the supervision of Prof. Dr. Stefan Scheu. Title: "Plant species and global change agents as driving factors of rhizosphere processes and soil nematode communities" funded by the Ministry of Science and Culture of Excellence "Functional Biodiversity Research"

2001-2006: Study of Biology at the Georg August University of Goettingen

Research Interests

Soils store twice as much carbon as plants and the atmosphere together thereby forming an important component of the global carbon cycle. However, the way carbon is processed and how carbon dynamics are controlled still is not well understood. Knowledge of controlling factors of the carbon flux from the entry into the soil until its release or sequestration is of significant importance, especially in face of global warming and climate disruption as a consequence of increased atmospheric CO2.

In terrestrial ecosystems, 90% of the annual biomass produced by plants enters the dead organic matter pool forming the basis of the decomposer system in soil. Plant carbon enters the soil via two pathways: dead organic matter (leaf litter and dead roots) and root exudates. Most studies suggest leaf litter quality as main factor explaining physical and chemical properties of soil systems, which in turn influence soil biota as drivers of decomposition processes. Recently, it was shown, that carbon does not enter the soil food web predominantly via litter but also to high amounts via roots. Knowledge on the influence of living roots on decomposition processes in soil is scarce but is needed to understand carbon dynamics in soil. To separate litter- and root-derived carbon I use stable isotope techniques coupled with fatty acid analysis (compound specific fatty acid analysis) to follow carbon and nitrogen flux into bacteria and fungi as well as soil invertebrates.

Moreover, I'm interessted in the effect of plant species on different energy channels (bacteria, fungi and root channel) which can be investigated by the analysis of free living soil nematodes. Nematodes comprise different trophic gropus, such as bacterial feeders, fungal feeders, plant feeders, omnivors and predators. Using this grouping help us to identify energy channels in soil and therefore soil functioning. Information on how carbon dynamics are influenced by plant species and how carbon is channeld through the soil food web are crucial to understand carbon dynamics in soil and will help to predict if soils will function as carbon sources or sinks when facing global change.